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First Overwatch League Grand Finals Will Be Played in Barclays Center

The first Overwatch League champions will be crowned in Brooklyn this summer.

Ozzie Mejia

May 9, 2018 11:05 AM

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The Overwatch League is on a one-week break, following the conclusion of an exciting Stage 3 Finals. But with three stages of the regular season in the books, the League is rapidly approaching its first playoff season. And while the playoffs will take place at the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles, Blizzard is thinking a little bigger for the Grand Finals.

On Wednesday, Blizzard announced that the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY would be home to the Overwatch League Grand Finals. The format will be slightly different for this final matchup. The two teams will face-off in a best of three matches, with each match being a best of five maps. The first series will take place on Friday, July 27 at 8PM ET. The second series will begin on Saturday, July 28 at 4PM ET, with a tiebreaker played on that same day, if necessary.

"The Overwatch League Grand Finals will be an epic experience for fans and viewers," Overwatch League Commissioner Nate Nanzer said via press release. "We want this to be the pinnacle of esports, and holding it at a world-class venue like Barclays Center, in a global capital like New York, will help us celebrate not only the league’s two best teams, but the fans, partners, and players who have joined us on this incredible journey."

The Barclays Center location could prove to offer a home advantage to the current top seed New York Excelsior, who ride a 27-3 record heading into Stage 4. The second place Boston Uprising could also see some fans travel out if their team makes the finals. The top six teams will make the playoff stage, which is set to begin on Wednesday, July 11.

The winner of the Grand Finals will take home the lion's share of a $1.4 million prize pool, along with the Overwatch League trophy. Tickets for the two-day Grand Finals are set to go on sale on Friday, May 18. Those looking to attend the playoffs in Los Angeles can purchase those tickets starting this Thursday, May 10.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?